Caesarian Conflict: Portrayals of Julius Caesar in narratives of civil war

Abstract:

This dissertation investigates the poignancy of civil war for Rome in the late Republican through early Imperial period, as focalized through depictions of Julius Caesar and, to a more limited degree, the Caesar-like Catiline. My comparative examination of Sallust's Bellum Catilinae, Velleius Paterculus' Historiae, and Lucan's Pharsalia centers on how each author treats qualities and catchwords found in Caesar's self-portrait in the Bellum Civile. By reading each portrayal of Caesar against the general's own account of civil war, I contend that one finds shifts in issues and traits according to their relevance to an author's own times, aims, and view of the relationship between Republic and Principate. Moreover, I suggest that whether an author portrays Julius Caesar in a positive or negative light is likely a consequence of his view of the current "Caesar" (i.e., Octavian, Tiberius, or Nero).